


By the Light

by Skirtthenorm



Category: Diablo III
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-04
Updated: 2016-09-18
Packaged: 2018-04-18 23:02:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 10,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4723553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skirtthenorm/pseuds/Skirtthenorm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kormac watches Dahlia, his wizard companion, become more and more war hardened. What can he do to bring the Light back into her life?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Fall of Jondar

Kormac had never seen Jondar so nervous as they stood in front of the great cathedral. There was an odd glow coming from the back of it, but that didn't deter Kormac in the slightest. They needed to find the tomes of their order and return them before they burned in what was left of the place. It hadn't been difficult to follow the falling star to this place. It radiated so much magic, and the further they had traveled toward it, the more danger they found themselves in. The fact that it landed here was a coincidence, really, or even ironic, given how close it was to New Tristam, a place with more trouble than should have been possible. But the cathedral had burned, and they needed to find their tomes.

"We've fought through worse by now, surely," Kormac said confidently, "Nothing could survive in there."

"Including us, if we're not careful," Jondar said.

"We have no choice. Our tomes are sacred and need to be protected."

"You're right." Jondar straightened up, and they both pointed their polearms at the door. "Together, my friend."

"For the Light!"

They charged into the cathedral, meeting rising skeletons right as they entered. It was no surprise. This was the sort of danger they had already met coming through New Tristam. They rushed the monstrosities, breaking their bones with sheer force. It was only after an hour of clearing the area that they began to look through the books. Jondar started stacking the burned, unusable or just irrelevant books on the floor. Kormac pulled each one out carefully, reading for a few pages before setting it back in its place. Surely someone else would come for these books, however irrelevant.

"Ah. Finally, I found one," Jondar said, flipping through it.

"Good. Set it aside. You know we're not supposed to read them."

"How often do we get to read the wisdom of our leaders ourselves?"

"We don't. We wouldn't be able to comprehend it if we tried."

"It all looks fairly standard to me."

"Put it down! By the Light, have you no respect for our order?"

Kormac watched as Jondar's eyes slowly glazed over, something of disbelief mixed with rage. Jondar held the page with such ferocity, that when the doors burst open, he ripped it straight out. The cultists before them had the same glaze in their eyes, as though they had seen something that should have never been seen, been given powers that shouldn't have been given. Kormac raised his weapon and yelled for Jondar to do the same, but there was no response. Jondar simply held the book and the page, looking carefully at the intruders. "Let us live," he said. "We'll come with you."

"What?" Kormac yelled, staring at his companion. 

"Kormac, we've been lied to. I'll explain it to you if you'll just-"

"Traitor!" Kormac turned toward Jondar, but was quickly overwhelmed by the cultists.

"You've done the right thing," one cultist said, "You'll gain power beyond your dreams. You should join us too... Kormac."

"Never!" He struggled against the many hands grabbing at his weapons and armor, but was quickly disarmed. He was dragged through the cathedral, passed an eerie blue light that clearly came from the impact of whatever had hit the cathedral in the first place. He fought violently, and tried to reason with Jondar, but they were separated.

"If you won't join us, we'll transform you in a different way. How would you like to be a hulking mass of worms?" a cultist asked.

"The Light is my salvation, and it will protect me from anything you try to do!"

"That's your opinion. Magda's magic is more powerful than your 'light'." he said. His tone was mocking, bringing Kormac's rage to a boil. He flailed against them, but the one that had a vice grip on him held him until the others raised their hands and struck him with beams of pure unholy magic.

"He's changing!" one of them shouted. Kormac felt his skin crawl with the insistence of change, but he held himself together with every ounce of faith and meditation he had left. Jondar may have become a traitor, but Kormac would stand strong until the very end. The Light would save him.

And then he saw her.


	2. Dahlia

She was distinctly light. There was a soft glow coming off of her that he didn't understand, but he was just grateful that the torture coursing through his body would soon end. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that she could take on the entirety of the cultists in the room, despite looking tattered and worn. She lifted her hands towards the cultists, and what could only be lightning flew from her fingers and the wand she was carrying, electrocuting several of them at a time. She was ruthless in her killing, and it was mere seconds after he saw her that he was free from their powers. He punched one in the face, but was immediately shot back as that one too was killed in an instant.

He took a long, steadying breath. The woman walked up to him, her entire body swishing and curling with energy. "Who are you?" she asked, her tone accusing. She clearly didn't trust that he didn't want the transformation to happen. Then again, he wasn't sure he wanted to trust someone who would kill so readily.

"You'll know soon enough. Just help me find my things," he said, hoping that he wasn't misreading the Light, and that this woman was in fact sent as a reward of his faith. She glared at him, but didn't see enough threat in him to leave her eyes from his and start searching the bodies. He looked around. There was no blood, no gore. Just death. "What brought you here?" he asked.

"I'm here to destroy the Skeleton King," she said, shuffling through staffs and tossing them aside. "He's risen again and needs to be permanently destroyed. What are you doing here?"

"I've come to find the tomes of my order. My comrade... he fell to the cultists. Unfortunately, if you want to get to the Skeleton King, you'll have to get through him."

"That should be no issue," she said with the utmost of confidence. She finally stood. "Let's gather your things so you can get out."

He looked her over, a bit more than he should have. She was barely covered in clothes, and her body was toned with the same years of training he had. "Listen, Jondar has most likely already been transformed into whatever these unholy creatures were," he said, waving his hand around at the bodies, "and he already had the power of a templar behind him. There is no reason you should fight alone. If we get my weapons, I can help you."

"I suppose it couldn't hurt to have another fighter at my side." She was giving him the same once over that he had given her. "Although you will have to give me a name eventually."

"I need your help first. To know that you are truly not what they are."

"Agreed." She was off running before he could say another word. They climbed to the next story, and he witnessed her power overtake their enemies with ease. As they turned the corner out of a room, the blue glow met them at a gaping hole that went too far down for them to see anything. 

"What is that light?" he asked.

"I'm going to find out." she said, destroying the skeletons coming at them without looking up from the hole. Kormac felt deeply ashamed of his own training watching her kill evil with so much ease.

"He's free! Stop him before he rearms!" a cultist screamed. They both looked up just as a bolt of unholy light blasted from the cultist. Kormac charged the three cultists, dodging the beam. He saw a chest beyond them, open with his polearm and armor.

"There's my weaponry!" He heard a now familiar crackle of lightning, and the cultists dropped. He went to the box and started the slow process to getting his armor back on, barely recognizing that the lightning was still going off. When he turned back to where he expected to see the woman, she was crouched, panting in a pool of bones and bodies. She was holding her chest with what looked like a large amount of pain. He rushed over to her.

"Are you alright?" he asked. She glared at him again. 

"I'm fine. I'll be fine. I just..." she stopped and groaned, "I've already used my potions. There were so many undead to get through..." She tried to shove him away, but she barely had the strength. In fact, he wasn't sure she had physical strength to use. Her magic was based on something entirely different. "I can't fail."

This wasn't a phrase of reassurance. This was said as a fact. A pure and simple fact, as the sky was blue, she wasn't able to fail.

"I admire your tenacity, but you clearly need healing. Let me help you."

"What can you do? Does your weapon have some sort of healing properties?"

"I have prayer."

The woman snarled, but that was the very last of her energy, and she collapsed on top of her accomplishments. Kormac placed a hand on her. He recited his prayer, rhythmically as a man who says the words everyday of his life. The glow from the pit grew stronger as he said the words, and he heard the sweetest voice he ever would. "You are not nephylem. But you are necessary. Keep your hope and faith, and you will make it through this trial together."

Kormac, despite his devout beliefs, never for a moment believed that he would be the one casting a miracle. But what he could only understand as his soul reached out through his hand and breathed life back into the woman. Her wounds healed quickly, and she shot up, her eyes opening with the sharp blue glow of the pit in them. It died down within moments, and her own normal eyes looked into his. 

"What did you do?" she asked.

"I have no idea." he whispered, "I couldn't even begin to explain to you what I think I... felt. But I know now I was meant to be here. We will work together and defeat this evil. By the Light."

"Then let's go." she said, standing up. She shook herself of the bone dust, and again he had the urge to watch her carefully, seeing every movement of her body. She smirked at him when she caught him, and he looked down.

"My apologies, mi'lady. I've just never seen a person like you before. You exude the Light."

"You're a ridiculous man."

"Excuse me?" He stood up, "I am a templar of the Order of the Light! I am trained to defend against evil, and I am anything but 'ridiculous'."

"Exuding the Light isn't the same as just looking amazing. But I'll let you keep your charade for now."

"We have work to do." he said, resenting her a tiny bit. She was unknowingly suggesting that he was breaking his strict vows and committing a sin by looking at her, but there was no way for her to know that.

"Oh, we do. But you still have yet to keep your end of our bargain. You have your equipment; now what is your name?"

"My name is Kormac. Who are you?"

"I am Dahlia, and it is my destiny to destroy the skeleton king and find the falling star."

"You say everything as though you know it to be the absolute truth. How do you know it's your destiny?"

"Anyone as incredible as me is destined for greatness, Kormac. Now, we should hurry. The cultists are only getting stronger."

"Then onwards we go!"


	3. Reassurance and Rest

They oddly bonded quickly through their destruction of Jondar. Despite how Kormac spoke, Dahlia was quick to understand that it had wounded him to kill one of his own. They sat on the stairs just down from where the battle had occurred, catching their breath and preparing themselves for going deeper into the cursed cathedral. He couldn't feel the hand that she put on his shoulder because of the armor, but when he looked over to see her comforting smile, it was all there. She knew the feeling. At some point, she had had to do the same thing.

"He was a traitor. He needed to be put down." Kormac said, looking away.

"Many have fallen to the evil that's come from this star. That's why we're here. We have to put an end to this."

"You're right. We have no choice."

"No one has a choice when it comes to destiny." Her voice was again resolute. She flipped her hair gracefully, glancing quickly back up the stairs before letting her eyes settle once more on Kormac.

"How are you always so sure?"

"Kormac..." she laughed a little. "You should know. Your order is your sureness."

"It's true. My order is the defender of the Light, and we are all that stands against it. But you are alone here."

"I have always been alone. This is no different. My master hand picked me from my village when I was small. He took me from my family and trained me my whole life. He assured me of my destiny, so when I saw the star, I knew I had to come here."

"Why did your master not come with you?"

"Because he's dead already." Dahlia stood up. "We should get going. The dead will continue to rise until we find this star."

Her strange optimism about the situation forced Kormac back up. They fought their way through hoards of undead and cultists, sometimes monsters they couldn't even comprehend. He could see the Light flash in Dahlia every once in a while, and she changed her strategy as though the angels themselves were speaking to her about what she should to do. He had no argument against her being destined for glory. He could only think about the voice he had heard earlier, and how easy it was for him to heal her, even from afar. This was Dahlia's destiny, however. He could only watch as his entire concept about human capability change right in front of him. 

Dahlia was patient with him as he checked the bookshelves for tomes of his order. She even searched with him, and he couldn't stop her from reading whatever she found interesting. They both filled their packs with books that seemed important, agreeing to return when the troubles ended. They had no idea that they would only come back years later, far different people than they were now. 

They spoke little during the quiet times they had to search after clearing out the undead. Their alliance was too new, too unsteady for them. It was clear to Kormac, however, that Dahlia's physical strength was limited, and she was weary from carrying so much. It was a complete contradiction to how he had been trained, seeing her kill with such ease and yet have so much trouble with hauling books around. 

"We should go back," she finally said.

"We can't go back! We're floors deep into this expedition and we've already seen the ghost of the Skeleton King taunting us. There is no way I am walking all the way back to town."

"I... have a way." She breathed shallowly. "We can return here, right here, afterwards." She pulled a crown out from her pack. The blue magic swirled around it, and within a few seconds there was a bright blue portal with New Tristam right behind it.

"Anything could follow us through there."

"It will close behind us and recreate a portal in town for us to reemerge through to here. And no one in town will be stupid enough to walk into the portal." She looked at him with dark eyes. "Please."

She was exhausted, and there was no way for Kormac to fix that with whatever magic he appeared to have. He sighed as he strained with his need to complete the mission. But somewhere within him he knew he couldn't destroy the Skeleton King himself.

"Fine. But I fear the hours we spend resting could cause havoc. Who knows how close the star is to destroying everything?"

"I can't fight like this," she growled, "We both had to walk weeks to get this far. Sleep is imperative." 

"I said fine." They walked through the portal together, something Kormac expected to have a sensation. However, they were just there, and he could see where they just were.

Dahlia dragged herself to the blacksmith, quickly identified as Haedrig. She dumped everything that wasn't books in front of him. "I have materials for you. If you wouldn't mind making something more suitable for my companion than what he has, I would be in your debt."

"You've already paid that debt," Haedrig said, rummaging through the small armory she had placed before him. "I'll have it done by morning."

"Perfect." She smiled graciously. And then she passed out.

Several people rushed forward, including an old man and a young woman. They looked at Kormac accusingly. "What happened?" the woman asked.

"We've been fighting for hours. Too many hours." He set down his pack and realized how exhausted he felt. "We need places to rest."

The old man smiled, holding himself up on his cane. "Feel free to use the spare space in my home." He gestured to a house. 

"Thank you... uh..."

"Deckard Cain. This is my niece, Leah."

"Deckard Cain? Of the Horadrim?"

"The very last," Cain said sadly. Leah put a hand softly on his shoulder. 

"Come Uncle. Let's get some rest as well."

Kormac picked up Dahlia and their bags, bringing everything to the small home. It was a welcoming sight after fighting with evil all day. He slowly stripped himself of his armor and set it in the corner with everything else. Leah brought the few spare blankets and food they had. 

"Please, don't deprive yourselves," Kormac said. 

"Dahlia saved my uncle's life. She can have whatever we can give."

Dahlia stirred at the smell of food. Kormac helped her sit up so she eat. He considered how many acts of bravery and kindness she had already done for this town, and he couldn't imagine what she had done just to get this far. When she had had her fill, she looked over at him and smirked. "I'm surprised we made it. You're much smaller without your armor."

"You were easier to carry than the books. I wouldn't talk about being small."

"As you wish, Kormac." She snuggled into the blanket. "Let's rest. In a few hours we have our greatest challenge yet, and I'm ready for this all to be over so I can get to that star."


	4. It is Destiny

Dahlia was awake before Kormac even realized he had been asleep. Her entire body was trembling with magical energy. She was an electrical, freezing, fiery ball of readiness. "Come on. We have to get back. Haedrig worked through the night to get your things ready, and I'm ready to destroy that unholy creation down in the pits of the cathedral."

Kormac groaned a little and dragged himself to his feet. Sleeping hadn't been as refreshing as he had hoped. It was probably the worry that was beating him down. Dahlia flipped her hair and looked over herself in a reflection. "Destiny awaits," she said.

"We should have finished this yesterday."

"You're right." Dahlia turned to look at Kormac. "We spent far too much time looking for your tomes. We can always come back for them after we finish our work. Knowledge is important, but we need to get our priorities straight."

"We can't do that! I have to get my tomes back to my order. I wouldn't have come here otherwise."

"Kormac. The dead are rising. Get it together."

Kormac felt slightly ashamed of his selfishness, but his training stopped him from feeling too bad about doing his duty to his order. He put his armor back on as Dahlia fluttered around the small town to gather supplies. By the time he was finished, she was back with a new sword and shield, along with a magical ring. "You'll need these."

He looked at his new equipment with amazement. No one had been so generous with him, even when it came to fighting. "Thank you," he said softly.

"It's for everyone's benefit. Besides, I found some gold while we were searching. Hopefully it won't be the last of our resources." 

"Dahlia... are you not afraid of what we're about to face?"

"Of course not, Kormac." She smiled. He nodded, his expression stoic. They said farewell to Cain and Leah, and leaped back into the portal. Some of the dead were back, but they were killed easily, and as they passed by the crater, Kormac felt more powerful than ever. He was afraid that he was drawing power from an evil source, but it was impossible to forget the voice he had heard. "You are not nephylem. But you are necessary. Keep your hope and faith, and you will make it through this trial together."

Kormac had his first waiver against his faith when they finally reached the Skeleton King. He was huge, and the skeletons he was summoning when directly at Dahlia. He was shaken by her scream of pain as they surrounded her, but she burst with energy, killing them instantly, and she charged at the Skeleton King as though nothing had happened. The king finally shattered from their combined efforts, and Dahlia immediately went to work to scavenge his remains. They could both feel the magic coming off the objects.

Dahlia drank one of her potions, and the wounds started to heal. It didn't completely close up everything. She was still bleeding a little, and the potions refused to eliminate some of the scars. He was better off only because of his armor. She didn't seem to notice as she leaped down into the secret passage under the throne. They landed shortly, and Dahlia's eyes lit up. "Finally. The fallen star."

She dashed down the hole, and stopped short of what she saw. "You? You're the fallen star?"

Kormac looked carefully at the man in the middle of the hole. He glanced over at Dahlia, and her face was a sign of complete disappointment and confusion. When they found out he couldn't remember anything, they took him back to Cain, who was just as upset as Dahlia. 

Through collaboration, they found out that certain areas had the same blue glow that had come off the man. Dahlia was silent through most of the talking, and when they went to search for the first sign of the stranger's power and possession, her magic became more violent. When there was a moment of peace next to a tiny empty cottage, Kormac did the same thing for her that she had done for him. He put a much larger hand on her tiny shoulder and smiled. "It's destiny," he said. 

"I wanted it to be over," she said.

"That isn't your choice. Nor mine. Of course, I could leave you and get back to my original mission."

"You wouldn't do that," she said, but her voice wavered a little.

"We're in this together, Dahlia. And the fields are being rampaged by monsters crazed by the blue glow. Get it together."

Dahlia laughed at his intonation of her own words. "You're right. Destiny takes its own course, and we're just along for the ride."

Her spirits raised, they continued their search for the sword pieces. When they found the first piece, and they finally met Magdha, Dahlia was undaunted by her presence. She even seemed encouraged by it. A powerful enemy searching for the same pieces of a sword was the surest sign of destiny. She was back on track.


	5. Nephelam

Kormac was furious when Dahlia recklessly allowed Lyndon to be a part of their travels, especially with Leah there. She seemed naive enough to him that Lyndon would take her heart, and they had no time for heartbreak. Of course, he had no time to argue about it as they all rushed to where the spirit of Alaric was standing by the Drowned Temple. 

"We need entrance into this temple," Leah said.

"Are you Nephelam?" he asked, his voice echoing between the stairwells and into the cave. 

"There are no Nephelam. They're legend."

He laughed. "Ahh, how little you know about the history of your own people. I can let you into this temple, but first you must go into the Festering woods and recover the keys to the gates. It is the true test of the Nephelam to find these keys."

Alaric turned to Dahlia. "You have the power of your ancestors behind you, Nephelam. Let nothing stand in your way."

Dahlia smiled at him oddly. "Nothing stands in the way of my destiny."

He led them to a river, and they all felt the ground shake the closer they came to it. A bridge rose up before them.

"I think we should rest before we go into the woods. We don't know what we'll be facing in there, and I'd like to check on Uncle Deckard," Leah said.

"It's a good idea. We'll be searching all day, and the shard can probably wait. There's no way the cultists would survive looking in the woods," Dahlia said. 

The group gathered back to the horadric gate and ported back to town, where they immediately went to Cain's home and settled in for the night. Lyndon was surprisingly curious about what was going on, and Dahlia was more than excited to tell him about her destiny.

"But do you believe what Alaric said," Leah asked afterwards, "about you being Nephelam?"

"I think Alaric might be holding onto history or myth a little too much. I imagine it will be the same for whatever we find in the festering woods. The shards have awoken a lot of the dead, and they might not know what's going on."

"He was right though. There is something... special about you."

"What's special about me is my training and my destiny. Finding the shards so we can give the stranger back his memories is the first step. The second is finding out why he came crashing down as what we thought was a star from the heavens. This nephelam thing is just an old story."

Kormac shifted uncomfortably. He had a sense that she was wrong, and that the nephelam were a long held truth that was starting to come back up, along with the undead. Dahlia was effortless in her power, more than a wizard should have been, even with lifelong training. He stood up and started stripping off his heavy armor, breathing a little easier. It would all become clear once the stranger knew who he was and why he was there.

"So, I think Kormac has the right idea," Lyndon said, "we should all get undressed and get under the blankets." He winked at Dahlia, and Leah stood up.

"I have my own room. I think I'll use it," Leah said, glaring at Lyndon. Kormac smiled a bit, glad that she wasn't going to fall under whatever charm Lyndon had. When she left, he turned to see Dahlia very carefully taking off her own armor, which barely covered her as it was. Lyndon leaned back and watched her until she shuffled under her own blanket. 

"Who knew New Tristam could be so beautiful?" he said, stripping down and getting into his own comfort zone. Kormac felt a protective snarl reach his face, and Lyndon smirked and rolled over. "I certainly hope we don't get separated in the woods. I'll be sticking close to the 'nephelam', just in case."

Dahlia yawned. "I wouldn't stick too closely. I sometimes don't know where my lightning could go. It might go right up your ass."

Kormac snickered and leaned against the wall, his usual stance for sleeping. He didn't like being too far from jumping up, just in case. Within a few minutes, he could tell Dahlia was asleep. Her body was completely relaxed, heavily bound to the position it was in. He looked over at Lyndon, who was resting with his crossbow in his hand. Dahlia was the only one who could truly relax in this kind of situation. She was so certain of her destiny, that she didn't think she needed to worry. Kormac glanced at his own weapons and armor, uneasy about the coming day. He knew little of the nephelam, but if what Alaric said was true, they could die at any time in the next day. He could only keep his faith, and he murmured words from his training over and over until he fell into a fitful sleep.


	6. The Keys

Dahlia was an unstoppable force in the woods, despite the warnings of Alaric. Again, she barely needed the help of the others, but she found herself swarmed many times, and it was only with the help of Kormac, Leah, and occasionally Lyndon that they all made it through. Fighting through to the first key was worse than they expected, with at least a hundred undead coming upon them. When they finally had the area cleared, and they reached the key, Dahlia was hesitant to pick it up. They had barely survived, and Kormac's healing aura, while useful, was slow. However, she couldn't stop Lyndon from reaching for it, his eyes nearly glazed.

"This must be worth a fortune," he said, "A true relic." He picked it up, and the pedestal shuddered.

"Lyndon, what have you done?" Dahlia asked, readying her staff. Kormac and Leah looked nervously around for the onslaught, but it never came. In fact, the only thing that happened was the orb flashing in Lyndon's hands. He seemed surprised, and Kormac, angrily, knew what was happening. He was hearing the same voice he had heard. He was meant to be a part of this. Dahlia, having no idea but still worried he was going to steal it, yanked it from his hands. "We have a destiny to fulfill, you idiot."

"Yeah..." He watched the orb for a few more seconds, but recovered quickly. "As long as destiny brings us together," he said, looking Dahlia up and down with a coy smile, "And I have plenty of places for us to get together."

Dahlia rolled her eyes. Leah uncomfortably shifted back and forth. "We should leave this place and get to the next key. We still don't know what we're going to face, and I don't think it's safe here."

Gaining the next key was just as arduous, but they pressed on. Lyndon was surprisingly more useful after holding the orb, having the same experience as Kormac. He surpassed Leah quickly, and staved off the hoards as though it had been his entire life. When they reached the second key, Kormac yanked him aside under the pretense of keeping his thieving paws off of it.

"What did you hear when you picked up the first key?" Kormac growled.

"I heard money jingling in my ears, my friend. Surely once those keys are used and the temple is opened, I can scoop them up."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it."

Lyndon shifted his eyes nervously. "I heard echoes in the cave, that's all."

"What did she say to you?" Kormac finally pushed. Lyndon shoved him back as they felt the shudder of the second pedestal. Dahlia came over, shoving both globes into her pack.

"Why are you two fighting so much?" she asked, "You barely know each other."

"I know our paths are completely different," Kormac said, "I follow the Light, and he follows his disgusting urges."

"Disgusting?" Lyndon gasped, looking hurt, "My urges are for joy. How could that be disgusting?" He turned to Dahlia. "We should get these keys back. Destiny and whatnot."

"You're... right," Dahlia said, glancing to Leah. Leah shrugged and started to run out of the decrepit hole they were in. Dahlia followed close behind, her staff radiating with a mass of elements. Lyndon turned to Kormac.

"She told me exactly what I needed to do to accomplish my goals. None of which include my 'disgusting urges'. So keep your lectures to yourself."

Lyndon ran off, and Kormac could only stand for a few seconds in shock before bringing up the end of the group. He had a feeling deep in the wells of his faith that making it through together meant all of them. And he wasn't ready for it.


	7. Death and Revenge

Dahlia was almost gnashing her teeth to get to the third piece once they had left the drowned temple. She ignored again the implication that she was nephalem, and that Leah's mother was somewhere alive. She was on a mission, and her group had just one more thing to do to restore the stranger's memories. Kormac could see, however, the sudden pain in her eyes when she saw Wortham burning. The entire town was already destroyed, and there was nothing they could do but save the last remaining people, a few who died right in front of them. She screeched at the cultists and nearly tried to attack the glowing apparition of Magdha, and her rage only caused her to jump in power once again.

But when they found out that the sword, the stranger, and Leah had all been taken, along with Deckard Cain, Dahlia destroyed what was left of the church with one large burst of energy. They ran back to Cain's house, and watched in horror as all their work was corrupted and destroyed. And a small piece of all of them died with Deckard Cain. Leah was devastated, and while Dahlia assured her that they would get revenge, she quickly left them all to another part of the village. Kormac found her hours later in the cellar Haedrig had led her to when they had to kill his wife.

She was curled up in the very back, staring blankly at the now washed cellar. It was as though nothing had happened. She barely noticed Kormac sit down next to her, but she leaned into him, taking comfort in the fact that he wasn't in his war gear. 

"I couldn't stop any of it from happening," she whispered.

"How could you have known?"

"We helped Magdha every step of the way. She used us to do all the hard work, and then she just snatched it up. We did this. Cain is dead because of me."

"We were doing the right thing. We followed the Light, and it was corrupted by evil. But we have to keep our faith and hope."

"There is no hope."

"We have the sword. It's all together, and Cain asked us in his last moments to make it worthwhile. We have to get it back to the stranger. Our quest hasn't changed. It has not changed at any point."

"I know you haven't heard the voice of assurance. But that's because you've already been assured. You assured yourself, knowing this was your destiny."

"Then I'm an idiot!" She pushed away from him, hiding her face in the corner. "The more I do, the worse things become! We were fucking pawns, Kormac!"

Kormac felt a sad lurch in his heart. He wondered if that voice he heard was a trick caused by Magdha so he would help with these trials. He watched Dahlia lose her entire sense of self right in front of him.

"Ah, there you two are," Lyndon said, coming into the room, "When are we leaving? I have a feeling money is on the way."

"I see you haven't had any problem with what just happened," Kormac said. Lyndon shrugged.

"I think you know where I stand," he said, looking at Kormac.

"That 'inspiration' might have been Magdha."

"What inspiration?" Dahlia asked.

Kormac sighed. "Lyndon and I both heard a voice pressing us on to complete our tasks. It told me that if I kept my hope and faith, we could get through it together."

"I know you won't lose your faith because of this, Kormac. But she could have said those words to reaffirm your beliefs and make you work harder, that is for sure."

Lyndon sighed and sat down. "I hate to be the voice of... anything, really, but there is a man who's been captured and is probably being tortured. Innocent men shouldn't be locked up."

"You sound like you speak from experience," Dahlia said.

"I should probably tell you about my brother," he replied. Kormac and Dahlia listened to Lyndon's tale, confounded by either his motivations or his morals. Either way, they both regarded him a bit differently afterwards. Kormac was almost saddened that he couldn't remember his own past to encourage Dahlia, who was thoughtful after the story.

"You're right," Dahlia said, "Magdha needs to pay for what she's done, not an innocent man. Especially if Cain thought he was an angel."

"Deckard Cain was the last of the Horadrim. He knew everything about angels and demons," Kormac said, "This stranger is clearly something special, and despite how 'destined' we are for anything, we're the only ones who know where to look."

"If we could do the trials Magdha couldn't, then she's surely weaker than us or anything she could throw at us. We'll take the battle to her. We'll take revenge for what's happened, and how she used all of us." Dahlia stood up, fire in her eyes. "This isn't about our destiny anymore. I want her blood on my hands."

Kormac looked up at her, surprised by her sudden change in attitude. Lyndon, who didn't know her quite as well and had mostly only seen her in battle, didn't notice. He just smiled. "Let's go raid our way to the angel."


	8. Walking Through the Spiderwebs

Their plans hadn't changed, but their focus had. With revenge at the back of their minds with every step (and money for Lyndon), they were more calculating. Dahlia refused to let her magic burst from her with the same kind of unbridled certainty, and Kormac was always close by, watching the scenery and his friend grow more dim. They traveled to the spiders' cave, undisturbed by the words of the crazed hermit they met at the entrance. 

"He lost his mind," Kormac said.

"He might have been poisoned," Dahlia said, "So let's make sure no one gets bitten."

"Are you sure we should be going in there?" Lyndon asked.

"It's the fastest route to the stranger and Magdha. The horadric portals have gone unused for so long that they've lost their power, so we have to activate them ourselves. Otherwise, we would have used those."

"My mistress calls to you," the hermit sang, "Just as she called to me. But I am her favorite. And you will be her dinner."

"Oh, just leave us alone," Dahlia whispered. They stepped into the labyrinth of spiders, actually shocked when some of the glowing eggs burst out with tiny hatchlings. The wizard dismissed of them quickly, their overwhelming mass being a clear danger to her and her companions. In fact, she could only call them tiny because of the larger, and then much larger ones that came afterward.

"I had a nightmare like this once," Komac said, his voice deep with disgust, "To think, we're living through it."

"I just wish we knew which way to go," Dahlia said, "This place is nothing but holes and mazes."

"Yes, and I think I've seen that exploded carcass before," Lyndon said.

"That's because we're taking the other route next to it that we didn't take before. It's like a... marker. An exploded, haunting marker that will never leave our dreams."

"If I ever do get my way, and we end up in bed together, I'm kicking you out before I go to sleep."

Kormac grunted his distaste. Dahlia shook her head. "I'll be kicking you first if you end up in my bed."

"Please, help me!" A woman's voice broke through their conversation. They couldn't see her, but they followed her voice, and charged through the maze. "She's coming for me!" They reached a distinctive amount of steps, where the hermit was standing.

"Come closer," he said, his whisper magnified by the emptiness of the cave, "Come closer, and feel my loving mistress's embrace."

His body burst in front of them, showering them with his death and the birth of a multitude of spiders. Kormac charged forward, piercing through several of them as lightning hit the multitude and killing the whole lot of them. Dahlia was pale as she walked up to the remains of the hermit. 

"I don't want to meet his mistress," she said. 

"Please, she's coming!" the woman shrieked, "I don't want to die like the others!"

Dahlia almost seem staggered by the terrifying aura of the cave. Kormac took a deep breath and reached out to her. "This is how we make our mark."

It took her a few seconds, but she shook herself from the fear. "You're right. Magdha may be behind this. She might be the mistress, and we can face her here rather than where we thought she was." They ran through the portal, and found the woman bound by a viscous web.

"It's too late! She's here. The Spider Queen!"

"Spider Queen?" Confusion and disappointment colored Dahlia's question, but she had no time to think as the largest spider of all came crashing down on top of all three of the adventurers. The Queen's fangs were almost too large for her own mouth, and her legs were covered with what should have been hair, but was actually a covering of spikes. Dahlia burned through her enough that she skittered away from them, leaving them with other spiders to die, but when it didn't work, she was proven to be stubborn enough to fight them on her own. Kormac's pike went straight through her head as she tried to bite him, and she crumpled to the ground, showering them with the treasures of those she had eaten before.

Dahlia dipped her wand in the acid that was coming off the dead spider and used it to free the imprisoned woman. She was grateful, but unsteady, and slowly walked them out of the cave to where they could finally see light again. And the light was glorious.


	9. Dahlia's Blasphemy

The woman they rescued, Karyna, was surprisingly useful to them. Before she was dragged off to be a sacrifice to the Spider Queen, she had acquired the Khazra staff, and it was the only way to get the goatmen to open up their fortress, the only way to Leoric's castle. Unfortunately, it had been abandoned with her now broken down cart, and the group had to hunt it down through heavy goatmen territory. 

The Horadric portal stood before them, and Dahlia stepped on it, lighting it up. She was the only one who could seem to activate it, another sign to Kormac that she was more than she believed herself to be. But his immediate concern was with the large wound in her shoulder from one of the teeth of the Spider Queen. Dahlia was trying to shrug it off, but even Lyndon felt the need to say, "We should port back to town and get that looked at. I don't want you turning into that freaky hermit."

Dahlia downed one of her healing potions. The wound closed, but the poison was still sizzling her skin. "Fine. Let's go back. It's been a long enough day as it is," she said. She dropped to her knees on the portal, and by the time the magic brought them back to New Tristam, she was completely collapsed. Kormac picked her up and took her to the healer, who could only hope that his healing powers were enough to be a comfort to them. Dahlia curled into Kormac's arms sleepily as Leah came running. 

"What happened? Is she okay? Did you find the angel?" she asked.

"We had an encounter with a demon spider. Praise be to the Light we all made it out alive."

"Oh yes, praise be," Lyndon said, "We've made it through another horrific encounter and now we have to do it again tomorrow."

"You can leave at any time, Lyndon."

"No, I'd rather be here," he said stiffly. He walked into the inn, and Kormac looked to Leah.

"She needs rest."

"I have some space in my room," Leah said, looking at Cain's now boarded up house. "It should be safe."

Kormac sat by Dahlia while she slept, but it wasn't long before she was awake. She stretched, her muscles aching from the residual poison that had coursed through her body. "We should get back to the hunt," she said, "Where's Lyndon?"

"I don't think we should leave yet," Kormac replied.

"Why?"

"You're not fully ready to take on our next task."

"Says who?"

"Me, Dahlia. I'm telling you, we aren't leaving."

Dahlia opened her mouth, but let her words turn into a huff. She played with small sparks jumping from her fingers. Kormac stayed quiet, keeping his eyes closed but listening carefully for any change in the room. Dahlia shifted uneasily, and then went into her pack to find one of her books. She sat it on her lap and looked at her friend. "This book was forbidden to me, but when my master died, I read it anyway. Without it, I wouldn't have known to follow the fallen star. I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't have done all the things I've already done."

"My order is led by intelligent men who know what books should be kept secret. Jondar read one of the forbidden books, and you saw what happened to him."

"Aren't you curious at all about what made him turn from your order?"

"He said that we had been lied to, but I didn't believe him."

"Knowledge is forbidden because it gives someone the same power as anybody else. It equalizes us. Why are you following an order that won't even let you know what you're fighting for or what your end goal is?"

"I fight for the Light and for the good of humanity to repent for my sins! How dare you question that?"

"You don't even know what your sins are. They tortured you until you lost them."

"I was purified!" Kormac stood up. "The Order is pure and the Light leads us!"

Dahlia sighed. "Can I at least read them?"

"You could try." Kormac said scathingly, "I doubt you would understand in the way someone purified would."

"It's your loss more than mine."

Kormac through his pack towards her and stormed out of the room. He wouldn't stay to listen to her blasphemous words, and he was afraid that she would start reading out loud. There was a small pull in his heart to go back and apologize, to stay and make sure she wasn't suffering from the poison, but he had to stay in the Light. She couldn't turn him.


	10. The Light Will Die

Not surprisingly, the wade through Khazra territory didn't make either Kormac nor Dahlia any happier with each other. Lyndon could sense the unease, but even his sarcasm and wit didn't cut through. It only made Kormac attack him instead.

"If you were any more useless, Lyndon, we'd be better off killing you and taking your things," Kormac said.

"Please. As though you could go without my charm and levity. You two would have already killed each other."

Dahlia and Kormac glanced at each other briefly as they walked up to King Leoric's old castle, wondering if it were true. They had clear, strong morals that refused to complement each other, and instead made them fight all the more. The night before was just the first time they had really noticed.

"Now this is more like it!" Lyndon said, running to the gate. "There has to be loot still inside."

"I wouldn't count on it," Dahlia said, as she raised her staff. Three cultists were coming towards them, charged with the same magical energy as her. The doors were thrown open, and they were swept into battle. Lyndon rolled out of the way, firing his poisoned arrows at the cultists who clearly didn't have the same amount of power. The entire courtyard was filled with them. Kormac charged at the closest enemy, and Dahlia let out a burst of electrical energy that shot through all the cultists now surrounding them. The magically charged cultists threw out a range of different elements, hitting Kormac and Dahlia hard. She bounced back fairly easily, having resistance against any magic like hers, but Kormac was immediately immobilized by the sheer amount of power. He collapsed to the ground.

"Kormac!" Dahlia yelled. She dodged another attack as she rushed to his side, her aura still attacking the cultists even as she handed him a healing potion. He could barely lift himself to drink it, so Dahlia had to go on the defensive as Lyndon finished with the cultist fodder. She aimed at the most powerful cultist and tried to use fire to burn him, but nothing happened. He laughed at her, and she was too shocked to move until she saw something falling from the sky. Something burning and large. It slammed down on him and the other two still left alive, killing them instantly. 

Dahlia was breathless and shaken by what might have been a miracle, but might have also come from her. Lyndon appeared from behind the rock as it dissolved, which had left the corpses as though they hadn't been burnt at all, but crushed. His face echoed her surprise.

"Nephelam?" he asked. He said it slowly, as though it were a difficult word, one from beyond his memories, but the only appropriate one.

"Don't say that," Dahlia said, turning from him to help Kormac drink the potion. Kormac immediately looked better, but he had the same look of reverence and awe. Dahlia stood up. "Stop it, both of you. I'm sure wizards have done that before. Powerful, amazing wizards. It just proves that I'm one of the best. But we already knew that." She flipped her hair. "Come on, we have to find Magdha and the stranger."

They entered the temple, only to be met with more cultists and their summoned monsters. It was almost a swarm, but it hardly seemed a challenge for them after the last fight. They raced up the crumbling stars and through the massive doors, where Magdha's unreal form was floating in the middle of her minions, demanding that they keep Dahlia distracted while she went below to finish her plans. Dahlia was sickened by this. Magdha knew that these people weren't going to live through the encounter. They were merely a group of fanatics waiting to die for her, mad with the idea that they would keep their new powers and be saved from torture when they finished their service in Sanctuary.

She had no time for her morals, however. She killed them with the rage she was holding for Magdha, and when she spoke with the remaining survivor, someone who had nothing to do with the war, her rage refused to dissipate. 

"I will murder Magdha for what she's done. Her blood will be my revenge, and her agony will be my healing," she said, kicking out the doors to go outside. Kormac and Lyndon looked at each other with concern. They both realized how quickly this was becoming personal to Dahlia, how she was taking every defeat and death as a punishment for her own failings. Kormac reached out to her gently, putting a soft hand on her shoulder. She looked at him, the anger still burning in her every feature. "What?"

"This was never meant to be your war. There are forces fighting on every side, and the losses we have are the fault of evil."

"I know it's not my fucking war, Kormac!" She shoved him away. "This isn't my fight or my destiny, but everyone is depending on me. Leah, New Tristam, the stranger, even you and Lyndon! And Cain certainly didn't want Magdha to win. So I'm sorry if this is too much for you. You can abandon me and go back to your order with your books, but I will never stop."

Kormac cringed when she spoke of abandoning her. He looked to the ground, feeling a strange heat under them, even through his armor. "And I won't stop you. I know this isn't what you wanted, but you may be the only one powerful enough to help. When I see you fighting for humanity, you are the Light. I don't want to see such a beautiful glow grow dim."

"I..." Dahlia blushed a little. She seemed either encouraged or embarrassed by his words, but she couldn't decide before Lyndon walked past them to the stairs.

"Come on, you guys," he said, "people always keep their treasure in the catacombs. We should get down there so I can loot you along with it." He winked at Dahlia, and she groaned. "I know, I know. It hurts to fall for me, but it's worth it."

Kormac rolled his eyes, but quickly followed the two down the stairs. It was a long, strange journey, and it was far from over.


	11. Hall of Souls

It only took seconds for Kormac to realize the strange heat he had felt while they had been talking was that heat of Leoric's Halls of Agony. Lyndon wiped the sweat off his brow every chance he got as they fought through the dauntless amount of creatures charging in to kill the three as they made their way further into what surely had to be a section of hell. "Leoric had more people down here than most kings had in their entire kingdom!" he said, grimacing at the pools of blood and torture devices.

"Evil wears no disguises here," Kormac said, slashing through a swath of creatures that would have been humans trapped by Leoric's men long ago. Dahlia shot her way through all of the torture devices, shattering them so they could never be used again, or even recognized for what they were.

"Keep moving," she said, "There's no one here for us to save." The energy around her was slightly erratic, but she managed to keep her magic in check as they went floor after floor through terrifying history. Even though Kormac and Dahlia were sure they had killed the mad king just days ago, his energy and voice echoed through the halls. As they traveled the maze of horror, they found random snippets of his diary and the diary of the man they slowly came to think had made him become the paranoid monster in the end. 

After they had passed through a giant set of chopping axes, Lyndon stopped to take stock of his arrows, even though there never seemed to be a reason to with the quiver Haedrig had made. "You know," Lyndon said, "I was quite the charmer back in Kingston." He nudged Dahlia and smiled. She frowned, but found it hard to keep as she recognized his need to let off nervous energy. However, she still didn't let the look go as she shook her head.

"Why do you think it's appropriate to say things like that? Down here? I'm fairly certain we're reaching the end of the world, and you're trying to flirt with me."

"Exactly! That's why we should try to get all the pleasure we can while we have the chance!" He laughed as he aimed his arrow at another undead creature and shot it in the eye. Kormac had an altogether uncomfortable moment as he saw reason in what Lyndon was saying, and then threw himself into a fray, furious at his own desires. The crackle of magic surrounded him as several of the cultists exploded into unholy creatures, and he heard Dahlia shout for him as she used her own magic to murder the newly born creatures. He let out a loud cry as one of them got in a long, curling hit with its massive claws right before it died in a fiery burst. Dahlia scrambled to him, sliding on her knees as she masterfully skirted around a hulking mass of one of the many giant creatures they had already fought. Lyndon took it down with three bolts tipped with poison.

"You are a fool," she growled, giving him a potion to drink, "You knew that was too many for you to take on yourself, and we know the cultists can transform into fucking monsters down here."

"I'm fine," Kormac said, swallowing the potion and hissing as the magic grabbed at his wounds and pulled his skin back together.

"What were you thinking?"

Kormac had many answers to that question. He wanted to overcome the confusion that came with agreeing with Lyndon. He wanted to punish himself for ever thinking of pleasure in a place like the Halls of Agony. Mostly, however, he was trying to ignore the contradiction in his mind of his stalwart training and vows, and the sensations of taking pleasure in Dahlia's company, no matter how much her anger was overtaking her. She glared at him, but he could see the glint of concern. She shook him a little and then pushed away, standing up for the next onslaught. "Just watch yourself."

They were all unprepared for the prison, however, and even Dahlia was taken aback by the ghost that slowly floated to greet them at the entrance. She explained about the lost souls of her servants, forever floating in cells of their own confusion and betrayal. Even she was trapped down there with them, unable to reconcile what her own husband, Leoric, had done to her. Her mouth didn't move, which was probably best as all three of the adventurers gaped at the head that was just casually hung by a hand of the dead queen. When she dissipated, they waited a few moments just to gather their wits. 

"It couldn't have just been a ghost," Lyndon finally said, irritated, "It had to be an eternally suffering ghost with her bloody head in her hand."

"There is no bottom to the depths of evil," Kormac said, "Nor to the depths of a lover so violently betrayed. That's why I've vowed to never fall in love."

Lyndon laughed, and the sound urged them toward the fight. "Come now Kormac, even I've been in love. You can't stop something like that, you idiot."

"If you are disciplined enough, you can stop anything!"

"Ooh, discipline. Yeah, you talk to me again when the right girl comes along."

They fought their way through the prison cells, finally finding a green shadow of what should have ended a long time ago. Dahlia slowly went toward it, and touched his head. He thanked the gods that his torment was over, but she never heard him. She was overcome with the soul's residual feelings, feelings of total despair, loss, and fear. She shook it off as Kormac came to check on her. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she replied, brushing him off. They both quickly turned to meet their opponents, conveniently leaving whatever questions he might have had to be forgotten. However, the feelings never left her, and in fact gathered with the feelings of the next soul they found. As they first heard the voice of the jail keeper yelling for them to be stopped, her stomach lurched with a sense of entrapment, like a beaten dog in a cage waiting for the next round of abuse to begin. 

"Maybe one of us should touch the next... icky stumbling green things of 'never should be'," Lyndon suggested. Kormac nodded as he shook Dahlia out of her stupor, and she swallowed the bile in her throat as she let her head adamantly agree. However, when Lyndon and Kormac both tried, they couldn't get the soul to go away. In fact, it only made the jail keeper laugh and taunt them. Dahlia growled and steadied herself. Of course she was the only one who could send them away. Death was becoming too close of a companion. She tapped the soul on the head and only its relief went with it as she was punched again with a series of agonizing emotions that almost formed into memories. Lyndon was the one to catch her this time, and he set her down gently on the ground. He looked over her and then closed his eyes, trying to draw strength from what the glowing blue light had told him. "Keep your spirits lifted when they cannot. Your gift may, at times, seem utterly useless, and may anger them, but they need you. She needs you. Only with her help can you reach your own goals."

"Dahlia," he whispered, annoyed even at himself for what he was about to say," this is neither the time nor the place to fall into my arms with such passion. At least get Kormac to leave."

Dahlia blinked at him with tears of agony in her eyes. The look gradually turned to confusion, and she finally laughed at the absolute ridiculousness of him saying something so stupid in such a place. Kormac was nearly smacked in the face by a skeleton as he turned to see what was so damn funny, but he only found Dahlia seemingly going insane as she looked into Lyndon's eyes with gratefulness. Lyndon smiled at her, feeling a bit better himself as the angels thanked him. He pushed her up, and they continued the mission.

Still, the small relief was no comfort as she reached the rest of the souls, and when they heard the jail keeper hit the ground at the center of the jail, Dahlia backed into a wall and cried. Kormac hesitantly took her by the shoulders. "Dahlia, this isn't you. Whatever is happening isn't you. You have to fight whatever this is, and get back into the battle."

She shook her head, trembling in his hands. "Stop it! You're better than this and we need you!" he said. It hurt him to yell at her, some deep part of him regretting it, but Dahlia sucked in a gasping amount of air, hearing anger and fear outside of herself. Her resolve took over as she thought of her friends being tortured in the same way those souls had, and she screamed, startling Kormac into letting her go. She charged toward the center of the jail, and Kormac and Lyndon both saw a fireball rain down from nowhere directly onto the jail keeper's head. The undead torturer was dead within seconds as she drowned herself in the pool of her magic and released all her hatred onto him. She may have been hurt, but there was no telling as she killed everything that tried to attack her, and her companions followed her destruction down into the next level of the halls.


End file.
